Wireless charging technology trial expanded

Evatran has added installations of its Plugless Power wireless electric vehicle charging technology at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and a second installation at Google’s California headquarters.

These installations are on Nissan LEAF vehicles and are the first passenger electric cars in the world with full wireless charging capability. The Wytheville-based company already has installed its technology at the Hertz Corp., Duke Energy and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in Greenville, S.C., as part of the Apollo Launch Program, in which commercial partners run trials on the technology. The second phase of the program begins in 2013.

“We’ve received invaluable and candid feedback from our partners, and armed with that feedback, we have now set our sights on releasing an upgraded and refined production product as early as January 2013,” Rebecca Hough, Evatran’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Feedback from trial partners so far has led to increased system reliability, improvement communications between vehicle and charging station components and enhanced visual driver communication.

Evatran is currently developing a Plugless Power residential charging station that will be available in the first quarter of 2013 for Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt owners.